The 2013 series of talks in the summer on matters relating to Catholic moral and social teaching began at Vaughan House on the second Thursday of May with Mary Colwell addressing the audience on a subject close to her heart, the state and future of our planet. Those who follow current debate and discussion on this matter will know that one of Mary's roles is as environmental adviser to the Catholic Bishops Conference of England and Wales. Very appropriate therefore that she should open this series of talks with her topic entitled " Dialogue with the earth ".

Utilising material sourced in her work as a producer on the various media, Mary drew the attention of those present to the pressures on our environment and the resources of the planet brought about by social and economic demands, reflecting on the question posed by the ecological theologian Thomas Berry that mankind had broken it's conversation with the earth.

As nature's resources in both our forests and oceans are plundered, she offered as food for thought what Catholic teaching and beliefs could do in not only giving us a way to consider the crisis placed upon our planet but for the Catholic Church to take a lead in addressing these issues and to help our planet recover not only from the ravages on it's natural wealth but also the drastic changes to our planet's ecosystem.

A big welcome to my chill-out zone, where I talk about my enjoyment of photography, my thoughts and discoveries, my loves and view of life as I embark on my new career. I had been taking pictures for fun since my days at school. My idea of fun is people and the stories they tell. So most of my pictures are about people. It's my way of telling a story. The story about the people whose pictures I take, what they do and latterly, pictures of their pets too, which is also great fun.